CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL’S INTERVIEW WITH DR. BOB LORINSER
The man who’s looking to unseat three-term Upper Peninsula Congressman Jack Bergman is making the rounds this week at the Upper Peninsula State Fair in Escanaba, trying to connect on a one-on-one level with voters.
Democrat Bob Lorinser is the medical director of the Marquette County Health Department. He says he’s running to give Northern Michigan “real representation” in Washington, punctuated by a much-repeated “Louisiana Jack” reference to the Republican Bergman, who also has a home outside of the district.
“You show up, you do some ‘truth-telling’, answer their questions, and you have some debates,” Lorinser told RRN News. “I think the people of our district, what do they want? They want somebody that lives here, that really lives here, understands their issues, and is willing to discuss with them those issues.”
Bergman lists his home in the western Upper Peninsula Town of Watersmeet as his residence.
Regardless, although there’s is no requirement under Federal law for a Congressman to actually live in a district that he/she hopes to represent, Lorinser, like previous Bergman opponents, is hoping to drive home his view that Bergman does not represent Northern Michigan values.
“We have a message for the people in this district,” Lorinser said. “I live in this district. I care about this district. I’ve been here since 1989. Again, I live here. I enjoy it. I look forward to sending Louisiana Jack back home.”
Lorinser, who highlights his medical background with the name “Dr. Bob” on the campaign trail, is competing in an admitted-Conservative district, which saw Bergman defeat Democrat Lon Johnson, 55-percent-to-40 percent, in 2016. In 2018, Bergman defeated Matt Morgan, 56-percent-to-43 percent. And in 2020, Bergman defeated challenger Dana Ferguson, 62-percent to 37-percent.
Bergman is a U.S. Marine veteran, who retired as a lieutenant general after nearly 40 years of service in 2009. But Lorinser insists that the district, which covers all 15 Upper Peninsula counties and a good chunk of northern Lower Michigan, is ready for a change.
“We CAN win,” Lorinser said. “This is a neck-and-neck race. Through all of our events, we have had enjoyable crowds. Several hundred people at some of these events. It’s fun; it’s enjoyable. It’s a lot of work, though. A lot of work.”
The district was served by Democrat Bart Stupak from 1993 until 2011, before retiring during the spring of 2010. The district flipped red in that fall of 2010, with the late attorney Dan Benishek (R-Iron Mountain) serving from 2011-2017 until Benishek decided not to seek a fourth term.
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